Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

The world is its own magic.

The highest mantra is to be without deception. The highest medicine is to have few desires. The highest meditation is not to be attached.

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

Through understanding emptiness, one does not become proud of one's virtues, just as one does not become proud of building a castle in the sky.

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

The key to meditation is to recognize the nature of your mind rather than trying to change it.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

The quality of every moment depends on the state of our minds.

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

Each moment of noting is a moment of purification, a moment of cultivating the path.